Fudge-Filled Ginger Cookies

I don’t know when I’ll get around to baking cookies, but Dawn saved the day by sending a recipe for these Fudge-Filled Ginger Cookies. Dawn is as cookie-crazy as I am (maybe more) and this one is bound to be good. It’s adapted from two great sources – Bon Appetit and Elinor Klivans. Dawn combined two recipes to make a unique cookie.

Photo of Fudge-Filled Ginger Cookies taken by Dawn.

Fudge-Filled Ginger Cookies

(1 hour chilling time to batter recommended before baking)
(adapted from a recipe in Sept. ’04 Bon Appetit)

Preheat oven to 350. Position oven rack to center level. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and oil for 2 minutes. Add in the egg and molasses (batter will look like smooth caramel). Slowly add in the flour mixture. Cover the batter with plastic and refrigerate for one hour or place in freezer for 30 minutes.

Form 1 inch balls of dough, (rounded tablespoon) then coat each with granulated sugar. Place on baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until light golden brown, Allow them to cool and enjoy or fill with fudge filling as shown.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and butter over low heat until the cream is hot and the butter melts. The hot cream mixture should form tiny bubbles around the edge and measure about 175 on a thermometer. Do not let the mixture boil.

Remove the pan from the heat and add in the chocolate chips, and allow them to sit in the hot cream for 45 seconds to soften. Use a small whisk and stir the mixture until it is melted, dark and shiny!

Pour the filling into a medium bowl and allow it to sit at room temperature until thickened, about an hour. Or refrigerate until it thickens, about 1/2 hour.

Place a dollop of filling onto the center of the bottom side of your desired cookie. Sandwich with another cookie and press gently to even out filling.

Comments

Yum!! I have a silly question, can you tell me what the shelf life of molasses is? I’ve had some for about 3 years and never opened it! :X I want to make some kind of ginger cookie, they sound so good, but there is no expiration date on the bottle, and I’m not sure I want to risk it!!

And for those of us who don’t really bake much (but still enjoy reading about other people baking 🙂 A quick no-bake version of this is to get thin ginger snap cookies (I LOVE the Anna’s brand: http://www.annasthins.ca/pages/products.htm) and spread Nutella between two. Simply divine! 😉

Kate, I took a look at that. Never heard of it before, but it’s funny. When I have more time, I’m going to watch a few more grandmas.

Rachel, that’s a great idea! It also reminded me of something else you can do with those Anna’s Thins. You know the old classic icebox cake dessert made with Nabisco Famous Wafers? You can make that same dessert, but use Anna’s Wafers instead and have a ginger flavored ice cream cake.

I made these last night to bring into work today for dessert after we go out for a holiday lunch. I like the full effect, but this wasn’t my favorite ginger cookie recipe… I think I prefer butter instead of veg. oil. The ganache was super easy and the combination was excellent.

I need another ginger cookie recipe to try like I need a hole in my head, but those look pretty good – my chief taste testers (my boss and my husband) agreed with my assessment of these cookies. They both suggested that I use the recipe for “big soft ginger cookies” that I found linked on egullet (I think you might have been the one who linked it!) and use the filling from this recipe.

Dawns fudge-filled ginger cookies are so incredibly good, my husband and I asked Dawn to bake and ship several batches as Christmas gifts. I can hardly wait to hear the response when they receive these sweet treats in the mail. THANKS DAWN (aka: Cookie Chick)!